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Challice
'''The Goddess of Illumination:''' Challice = The Goddess Challice, Progenitor of Illumination and Enlightenment, is an old god of the divine pantheon and sister to Lisbet, Goddess of Life. In the beginning her purpose in this plane of existence was imprecise and changeable. Humankind was slow to develop between the ravishes of Grim’s shadow folk and Jasmine’s divine beasts, and set at odds with one another in their primitive state. It took time to understand her role in the grand cycle of life, and the other gods often ridiculed and pitied her for her lack of a schema on the mortal plane. She was once the most purposeless amongst the godly pantheon, as all in present day know, but in time she would become one of the most important gods -as she was meant to give humans knowledge of the universe. = '''Those Who Wait''' = For generations she wandered among humankind aimlessly, content to observe their way of life and grasping at their clumsily formed culture. One day, whilst strolling the forest one winter alongside her companion Roa, Goddess of Truth, they discovered a young girl fast asleep under a tree. She was exposed in all manner to every element and predator that might assail her in her vulnerable state. Challice, concerned, laid a hand upon her shoulder to wake her. The girl awoke as intended but, for the first time since their creation, she spoke to Challice in a clear tongue. Their exchange had given a human the knowledge of language and, within a fortnight, the knowledge of survival. They had begun to build and shelter themselves, ward beasts away with fire, arming themselves with the knowledge they were imparted. = '''Slow and Unsteady''' = For centuries on Challice would share her knowledge freely, advancing humankind far beyond what may have been achieved on their own even with the gift of thought. She was happy to be of service, thinking nothing of the consequences as what would later be called the Second Period drew near. With knowledge came the desire for power, kings desired to know the secrets of their enemies, emperors demanded strategies that would be used to crush their neighbor countries. Challice was horrified by the events which would unfold as the Greeks, Romans, Chinese, and supernatural beings laid waste to the world. She longed for a resolution, a method to curb the rapid advancement of humans who vied for power. She discovered this in a young Greek philosopher who would be the first to encounter the Alimenti. = '''An Agent of Truth and Knowledge''' = Noctris Legere II was his name, though he would answer to it as a mortal man for only twenty winters, up unto the day his life was taken by a clan of Alimenti isolationists embedded in southern Greece. Challice came to him in his final hour. She offered him the opportunity to prevent fates like his own by becoming her agent, a God tasked with guarding the secrets of the future and keeping separate the societies of humans and supernaturals. In exchange he was given all of her knowledge, the mysteries and designs of their dimension. Together, she and Noctris established the Illuminati, an order of human men and women charged with using a variety of methods to control worldly knowledge and maintaining cosmic balance between humans and supernaturals. = '''The Archivist''' = In the new grand cycle of the universe Challice’s role in the universe has transformed from mentor to mistress keeper of all knowledge. She records all that is known and that which will unfold in the future. She works in tandem with many of the gods - from bequeathing visions Briseis must impart upon Seers to negotiating the fall of empires with Enigma to ensure balance in the cosmos. Of all the lesser gods she is perhaps one of the most central to the workings of reality and the known universe. Unfortunately her active role prevents mortals from ever seeing her in person. Since the induction of Noctris and his Illuminati it is nearly unheard of for any but a god to see Challice in her natural form. None are even aware of where she maintains her role in Simone’s Realm. = '''Bathed In Light''' = Challice is depicted in early history as a young woman of meager beauty. She was said to be rather small and unassuming, with elegant posture and refined speech. Her most defining features were her drooping green eyes which were animated by a series of swirling speckles reminiscent of drifting stardust, her tan skin which was covered almost entirely with intricate ever-moving colorful markings, and soft violet-purple hair worn up in a long cascading ponytail. Mortal men and women were storied to have lost all ability to feel grounded in her presence - as if they were perpetually suspended midair.